The Bloomberg administration is reportedly preparing a majorstudy of living wage agreements on publicly subsidized developmentinitiatives, with the New York City Economic Development Corp.slated to issue an RFP for conducting the study in the middle ofthis month. An EDC spokesperson did not confirm the timeframe forissuing the RFP by the deadline for this article.

Concurrently, the living wage movement is gaining some tractionin the City Council, with a bill introduced in February by councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito. Listed as Int. 0018-2010, the billwould establish a prevailing wage requirement for building serviceemployees in properties that receive subsidies or rent from thecity. It has 31 sponsors currently, including Mark-Viverito.

The public benefit agreements Liu's task force is studyinginclude so-called community benefit agreements, which began inCalifornia with the Staples Center project in the late 1990s. TheCBA movement gradually spread east and is now making it way intoNew York City. CBAs figured in the public-approval process forAtlantic Yards in Brooklyn, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx andColumbia University's planned expansion in Manhattan, among otherhigh-profile recent projects.